It Takes Two to Tango
by ManofManyHats
Summary: And to drive an airship, apparently.


**AN:**

 **Trying a bit of humor. Took a few tries but I'm happy with it. I think this is the first thing I've ever posted that doesn't have any bit of double meanings or angst or anything. Lightheartedness, what is this! Hissss, get it away!**

 **Set near the end of Boiling Rock Part 2.**

* * *

Huh. You know, when Sokka first offered to man the war balloon, he wasn't expecting it to be that big a challenge. He knew how it worked because frankly, he'd made it, and the balloon ride to the Boiling Rock was a nice warmup. He thought he'd pull a couple levers, steer a little here and there and maybe make a good post-prison impression on Suki and his dad.

He hadn't accounted for the Fire Nation's ability to hopelessly complicate everything they touch.

The room blinked with dozens of multicolored lights and steam hissed out of steel pipes that wound around the walls. Buttons and levers completely covered the dashboard in front of him and spread across the walls at his sides. He had absolutely no idea what any of them did.

Not exactly something you wanted to hear from your pilot but hey, this was a lot more complicated than Zuko's air balloon.

"Deep breaths, Sokka. You've got this, you've got this. It can't be that bad, I mean I made this thing!" The room called his bluff. This was a well oiled, ironclad war machine made to fly the princess of the Fire Nation. Sokka had made balloon with a hole in it.

But no way was he going back to ask for help; his honor code went against that. And besides, if anyone had any chance of making this bird fly, it was him. Or, so he told himself.

Sokka went for the steering wheel first. It was the only thing he was familiar with. He turned the cold metal to one side, then the other. Nothing. He tried pushing a nice, big button and he thought he could feel the engine hum a little.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere."

He was debating on which of the two levers at his right he should pull when someone started rapping on the metal above him.

"The ship's cleared out! We're ready to go!" It was Suki's voice, dim and echoey, but definitely hers. Then he heard some heavy footsteps, a lot of yelling, a loud _thump_ and a groan of pain. "Alright, _now_ we're all clear."

Well, at least one person had a handle on their job. But hey, no need to get down on himself; he knew how to steer, he'd managed to turn the engine on, he'd decided which lever he was gonna push and he'd even found the intercom.

"This is you captain speaking," he could hear his garbled voice echo from down the hall, "Preparing for take-off. You'll probably want to buckle down."

Sokka pulled the lever, hope upon hope that it was the _up_ lever. It wasn't. The ship leaned forward, threatening to dive off the ridge. There was a lot of screeching and rocks tumbling and crates sliding across the floor and Sokka really should've listened to his own advice because he fell forward onto the dashboard and pressed about a dozen buttons on the way.

With his faced pressed up against the glass, Sokka had a full, unchallenged view of the ocean they were about to fall into.

"I thought you knew how to drive this thing!" That was Zuko, who'd crashed through the door covered in soot, probably from his time in the engine room shoving coal into the furnaces. The angle of the ship made him slide hard into the steering wheel. The ship teetered nervously.

"What do I do!"

"Up! We need to go up! Boost the engines, we need steam in this thing!" Sokka tried to peel himself off the windshield, but pushing on the glass anymore would not have boded well for him.

Zuko scanned the dashboard and grabbed hold of a lever, still holding tight to the metal wheel. It clicked every few inches as Zuko pushed it as far as it could go. They stopped lurching over the cliff and Sokka threw himself off the glass as soon as the ship started to straighten. The engine whirred, but it was only background noise to the horrible grinding of metal on stone.

"We need to raise the landing gear!" Sokka popped back on his feet and took his spot at the helm.

Zuko scowled at him. He was breathing hard, probably from the prison break and then having to shovel coal in a smoldering room. Running across a capsizing balloon and slamming into a steering wheel couldn't of helped. "I'm going to hope that's the same as an anchor."

He hit a button on their left and the grinding got undeniable worse. Then it stopped completely, and the ship rose steadily into the air.

Sokka let out a sigh. "Looks like we're good."

Zuko's frown deepened as he looked down on the Boiling Rock. "You sure? I think we just got into the prison's firing range."

"Nah." Sokka watched as a catapult was lit on the ground. " They can't shoot this far."

He took the wheel and eyed the air, giving him another unhindered view of doom as a fireball flew across the windshield. Sokka made a sound like air leaking out of a balloon.

Zuko gritted his teeth and turned to him. "What was that you were you saying?"

"Forward thrust! We need to get moving!"

The engines roared as Zuko threw down another lever. Sokka wrestled with the wheel to try and dodge the missiles but the airship tilted and lurched so unpredictably that all he had to do was try and keep the ship from keeling over. At his side, Zuko reminded Sokka of how much of a sailor's mouth he had, all while flicking random switches and trying to stay on his feet. A loud boom echoed from somewhere behind them.

"Agni, if we live through this I am going to kill you." Zuko growled as loud as the motors.

"Think about that later. Let's focus on the _live_ part, right now." His hands were white as he tried to keep the wheel steady, but the airship kept shuddering like it was about to have a nervous breakdown. "I don't think the engines like being maxed out!"

Sokka grabbed for a lever and brought it down a few notches while Zuko took the other. Clouds passed silently as they kept shooting upwards.

"Let out some steam while you're at it!" Zuko grumbled a lot as he climbed his way to the controls, but he did what he was asked. They eased their way above the clouds.

Sokka ragdolled over the steering wheel. "I think we're out of range. Looks like it's smooth sailing from here on out."

Zuko grunted in agreement. They stood beside each other as the war balloon bobbed in the sky, grazing the clouds like a ship at sea.

Zuko's brow furrowed. "Are we… going down?"

"What are you-" Sokka cut off his words when the clouds engulfed their view and the room immediately darkened. He could hear the soft _click_ of a lever being pulled. Nothing happened. He could feel the tilt now, getting worse by the second and his stomach crawled further and further into his throat. They weren't falling fast, they weren't divebombing at the very least, but the engine had gone silent, they weren't moving forward and they definitely weren't going up. A gauge lit up and glinted in Sokka's eyes.

"We're out of fuel!"

Zuko whipped his head toward him and the fuel gauge showing empty. "I'll go to the engine room-"

"No way, I don't know how to work this thing! I'll go."

"Do you seriously think I know what I'm doing right now?"

They stood there at a standstill for a few moments, hands on various levers and buttons as little red lights blinked threateningly above them. The ship kept sinking. The two boys kept glaring at each other with a mix of fear, annoyance and grudging respect. Then Zuko slammed a hand on the intercom.

Sokka leaned in and shouted, "Dad, Suki, Chit Sang; we need you in the engine room, stat!"

* * *

They found a bag of fireflakes in a chest at the back and pulled in two chairs from the mess hall. They ate in relative silence. Sokka kept tabs on the gauges and indicators while Zuko hovered over the buttons and levers. They righted the wheel interchangeably.

"Thanks… by the way." Sokka took another handful of flakes and eyed the dashboard. "Let a little steam out, will ya?"

"Oh," Zuko toggled a switch and sounded genuinely surprised, "You're welcome, I guess. But it's not like I could've flown the ship alone."

"Not just the ship but, you know - everything. Just… thanks." He tapped at a gauge and adjusted the wheel. "That's enough steam, you can give a bit more to the thrust."

Levers clicked into place. "It was the least I could do really. After… after everything."

That time, Sokka leaned over the wheel to look at him. "Are you serious, Zuko? Do you really think that... After everything we just went through - I mean you got _arrested_. I think I'm the one with the debt at this point."

Once he started, Sokka found himself unable to put his gratitude into words. Zuko had absolutely no stake in the mission, but still he came, he fought, he was willing to stay longer, and gave himself up instead of letting Sokka get caught. Sure he did some questionable things in the past, but Sokka had overturned his bitterness about that a _long_ time ago.

"No…" Zuko glanced at him from the other side of the wheel. "I guess we're even now."

They both sat back and watched the scenery unfold before them. If they were all going to burn up when the comet arrived, Sokka was glad he had another person he trusted by his side.

Then the door slammed open behind them and the two jumped out of their seats about a foot in the air. The fire flakes went flying. With her eyes seething and clad in ash covered prison garb, Suki looked hellish.

"Next time, _I'm_ steering the ship."


End file.
